Life has been cooking with gasoline and I have my busy music schedule to thank for that. That said, if you haven’t seen a show in a while, here is my End of Summer Schedule for 2011 that includes dates in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. With the summer coming to a close, I hope you’ll pick a performance (or four) and bring a friend (or nine).

See you at one of these fine venues soon!

8/25: Kink.fm Street of Dreams
Portland, OR

8/27: Beavers w/o Borders @ Bend High School
Bend, OR

9/09: Private Event
Meridian/Boise, ID

9/10: Tualatin Riverkeepers Riverfront Festival
Tualatin, OR

9/11: McMenamins Edgefield Winery
Troutdale, OR

9/14: Opening for Alpha Rev @ the Aladdin Theater
Portland, OR | GET TICKETS

9/16: Kink.fm Portland Spirit Early Escape Cruise
Portland, OR | GET TICKETS

9/21: Mandolin Cafe
Tacoma, WA

9/22: Mill Creek McMenamins
Mill Creek, WA

9/23: VENUE TBA
Seattle, WA

9/29: Alberta Rose Theater w/ Sam Wegman and Safire Band
Portland, OR | GET TICKETS

A full list of dates and times can be found on my website: www.tylerstenson.com

March 11th of 2011 was one of the most special moments of my musical life.

Having just turned 30, it dawned on me that I had been playing music for a full decade — 10 years of writing, recording and grinding. It hasn’t been easy, but it has certainly been worth it.

To celebrate this milestone marker, I hosted a self-indulgent “Greatest Hits” concert at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland that showcased my absolute favorite songs, and fan favorites, from across the decade (2001 to 2011). In all, roughly 300 fans and friends crowded into the rows of the Alberta Rose Theater and showed their beaming support for my 10-year journey.

After many months of waiting patiently, I finally got my hands on these three recordings from that special Spring evening. Enjoy Tyler Stenson and the Elegant Folk live from the Alberta Rose Theater!!

OFTEN & MUCH

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CANNONBALL

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BEST LAID PLANS

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VIDEO IS COMING SOON!!

A fan just sent me this photo and while I hate to see my supporters break any kind of bone in their body, I’m honored to provide them with the proper healing attire. With any luck, between the power of music and the comforts of the Shade Clothing poly-blend, she’ll be gold in no time. Get well soon!

GET YOUR OWN SHIRT HERE

I just returned from a visit to the deepest lake in the United States — Crater Lake. Reaching depths of 1,950 feet, this formerly active volcano is now an untainted mountain lake of unparalleled clarity. Certainly a site to see.

While I have attempted a visit to Crater Lake once in the past, I was ultimately turned away by the park rangers because of a “zero visibility” status due to low-laying clouds — I was allowed to enter the park but I wouldn’t be able to see anything — a 5-hour drive for nothing!

This time was different, I arrived on a blue-sky day and was able to see Crater Lake in all of its glory. Although these humble pictures do this majestic lake no justice, nor do they illustrate the size of the crater’s walls or the hue of the surface, I hope you’ll enjoy them nonetheless.

Enjoy these pictures of Crater Lake and the Crater Lake Lodge!!

RANDOM FACT ABOUT CRATER LAKE: If you were to empty Crater Lake, there is enough water within the lake to cover the state of Oregon in 3 inches of water!!

When I say I come from a long line of the Music Makers and of Soldiers for the Muse, I mean it. As long as I can remember, both my immediate and extended families have been singing even the most mundane birthday songs in four-part harmony and, as far as I know, this can be traced back for generations.

My family sings, that’s what they do.

As an example, I just received a beautiful song called Homeward Bound that my cousins recorded to mark the one year anniversary of their father’s death (my uncle). What blows my mind is that this isn’t a professional singing group — these are my cousins — a small group of brothers and sisters, doing what they do best.

Of course, they learned it from their father, who learned it from his father, and they will certainly pass it along to their children and, with any luck, the singing will continue until the world ends.

Dedicated to Rex Kocherhans. May you rest in peace.

HOMEWARD BOUND
Sung by the Kocherhans family

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In the quiet misty morning,
When the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing
And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer’s ceased its gleaning,
When the corn is past its prime,
When adventure’s lost its meaning-
I’ll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture.
Chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling
And I’ll return to you somehow.

If you find it’s me you’re missing,
If you’re hoping I’ll return,
To your thoughts I’ll soon be listing,
In the road I’ll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing
As my journey nears its end
And the path I’ll be retracing-
When I’m homeward bound again

Bind me not to the pasture.
Chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling
And I’ll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning
When the moon has gone to bed.
When the sparrows stop there singing,
I’ll be homeward bound again.

In late 2006, two very gracious friends of mine surprised me with a plane ticket to Europe, providing me with a monumental opportunity to feel another breeze and lay beneath another sun. The trip changed my life. And, because this gift was given out of the complete kindness of their hearts, I felt mine shift and soften as their Big Hearts made mine grow.

This song is my very humble way of saying, Thank You.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Big Hearts, track #1 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BIG HEARTS
by tyler stenson © 2007

Heaven knows I’d wait to feel another breeze
And to lie beneath another sun;
Deep down in your love.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.

It’s growing everyday
And softly resting miles away.
I swear Heaven was exploding there-
It was filling up the air.

Big Hearts are filling up the hemispheres.
Big Hearts are warming up the coldest years.
They’ll lie beside me forever more
Because Big Hearts make mine grow.
Big Hearts are Full Moons and Northern Lights.
They come full circle-
They defy science.
Big Hearts are freight trains that push me along
They hold onto the tracks even when the wind is strong.
Big Hearts are factories of Godlight Beams
That just get brighter as the daylight completely recedes.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

While perched on top of Mt Pilatus in Lucerne, Switzerland, I had the opportunity to observe some of the most beautiful scenery one could ever behold. In all, there were three sources of beauty; the elegant alps in the distance and Lake Pilatus below … where the water looked like Cellophane, reflecting stars back into space and [her] eyes looked that way to me.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Cellophane, track #2 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

CELLOPHANE
by tyler stenson © 2007

From the tops of mountains
We collide with clouds above the sea
And down below they disappear
(But I’m not convinced they were ever there)
Cause the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

Where we are, the hills are green
And elegant as anything we’ve seen
And Pontius and Pilatus lay beneath the waves
Of their water graves and
The water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space,
And your eyes look that way to me.

So, where we are, the hills are green
But the white in your eyes is all I see
Because it seems the world is a perfect sphere
And that all things beautiful are gathered here
And the water looked like cellophane,
Reflecting stars back into space
And your eyes look that way to me.

Ah, look there, see that gleam?
It’s the sun and your eyes the beam.
All out streams rise off your face-
All I see is all your lace.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

In 2003, my brothers and I were all independently going through our share of difficulties in this life; trying to climb an endless hill with seemingly no end in sight. With this heavy burden in my mind and in my heart, I quietly wrote a song that was never intended to be heard by anybody but them — a motivational tune in the hopes that it would spark not just one of us, but it Better Be Us All.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Better Be Us All, track #3 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

BETTER BE US ALL
by tyler stenson © 2007

An interesting man I know
Has the Music in his bones.
He writes the songs
But he can’t stand rock n’ roll.
His name is On His Right Hand
As he hides behind a wall
-Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Older brother,
He’s the dreamer of some dreams-
He stretched out the gray and made it green.
I can see myself in him
(I’m just a little bit too small).
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

Little brother,
You are not the only one-
Just don’t get burned in the Oklahoma sun.
You’re trying to get to heaven and
I’m just trying not to fall.
Somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

I’m a music maker
Trying to make a dream
But getting there is as endless as it seems.
So, I’m gone to California
(Even if I have to crawl)
Because somebody’s gonna make it but you know it better be us all.

So, when I get to California,
I’ll be giving you a call
Because somebody’s gonna make it,
But you know it better be us all.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

Although I first heard the phrase Whistle Stop in a poetry class in 2004, it took me two years to really understand its meaning and write the song that did it justice. In the years to follow, I’ve recorded many versions but here now, in 2011, I’m proud to bring a recording to the table the stands bold and does not whisper softly the things that it wants loudly to be.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Whistle Stop, track #4 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

WHISTLE STOP
by tyler stenson © 2006

It’s the end of the line-
Your train rolled through the time
And now all your Graces
And your Legacies stand.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be
-Be like a wave.
-Leave impressions on the sand.

Because that whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

So, I’ll leave behind use-to-be’s
And in that horizon, we’ll leave to the dirt roads
Regret and Disdain.
Every sun is going to fade
But in the morning rays
I hear a songbird singing your name.

Where it stops I can’t say
But those warm summer days
Roll by like cars on a train.
And people everywhere are looking back,
Crying on their hands
And on their knees
Because it’s the end of the line.

Your train rolled through the time
So I’ll say Goodbye to the people you know.
Don’t whisper softly the things
That you want loudly to be-
My, how your legacy glows!

That whistle stop is coming strong-
It shows no signs of slowing down for this town.
That whistle stop is coming strong
And big machines are hard to stop.

THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG:
Orange Chrome Sky (2006)
See That Gleam (2008)
Another Gleam (2011)

After surviving a substantial break-up with my college sweetheart in 2004, my four-walled apartment began closing in on me and each day tested my fragile existence. I felt like a flimsy piece of paper, set free into the wind and left to figure it out on my own — a Paper Plane simply trying to make it to the other side.

Below is a video discussion of the behind-the-scenes background of Paper Plane, track #5 on my new album Another Gleam — a revealing look at the inspirations, the meanings behind the song, the songwriting process, the recording experience and much more. Enjoy.

BUY ANOTHER GLEAM!!

PAPER PLANE
by tyler stenson © 2008

Fold me up like a paper plane
That you never want to come back.
She believes in something unfortunate-
I believe in that.

Ruin me like a paper plane
That somehow refuses to fly.
All my wings are bent and broken
And I’ll never make it to the other side.

Forgive me,
Forgive me,
But I’m the only paper plane I know
And it’s hard not to let it show.
So, I’m trying to get up the nerve to leave
Cause my apartment won’t let me sleep-
It’s breaking down like you and me
And it’s hurting everywhere I bleed
And my heart aches inside of me
And it’s hard not to let it show
(That I’m the only paper plane I know).

THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS SONG:
Live at Mississippi Studios (2007)
See That Gleam (2008)
Another Gleam (2011)